Dr. Yongping Zhai

Senior Advisor on Carbon Neutrality Strategy, Tencent, China

Dr. Yongping Zhai is a Senior Advisor on Carbon Neutrality Strategy at Tencent, China, helping the company pursue its carbon neutrality goals and reduce global competition for resources. He has over 25 years of experience in energy development across Asia and Africa.

Dr. Zhai previously served as Chief of the Energy Sector Group at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he was responsible for overall energy policy coordination and technical support to ADB energy sector operations. His work included developing energy sector knowledge products and collaborating with global energy partners. From 2010 to 2015, he was Director of the South Asia Energy Division at ADB, overseeing operations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, and leading support for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and regional power trade initiatives.

He also served as ADB’s Lead Energy Specialist (2008–2010), managing energy sector operations in Southeast Asia including Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). He played a key role in supporting the restructuring of the Philippine power sector and promoting regional power trade and cooperation in the GMS. Earlier in his career, Dr. Zhai worked at the African Development Bank (AfDB) from 1993 to 2000 as Principal Program Coordinator and Public Utilities Economist, leading energy projects in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Between 1990 and 1993, he served as Assistant Professor in the Energy Technology Division (Energy Policy and Planning) at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand. He graduated from the Thermal Energy Engineering Department of Tsinghua University, Beijing (1983), and earned a Ph.D. in Energy Economics from the Institute of Energy Economics and Policy, affiliated with the University of Pierre-Mendès France in Grenoble (1989).